Two-year permit recommended for Makawao TVR

WAILUKU - The Maui County Council's Land Use Committee voted unanimously for a two-year permit that would enable the Hale Hookipa Inn in Makawao to continue to operate as a transient vacation rental.

The four-bedroom, short-term rental at 32 Pakani St. is zoned residential and has attracted both the support and ire of neighbors.

Cherie Attix's 2,000-square-foot home was placed on the national and Hawaii registers of historic places after she restored it herself.

The rooms rent for $125 and $155 a night, and Attix lives in a small home next door.

Council Member Gladys Baisa proffered Attix the two-year conditional use permit extension. Council Member Michelle Anderson added a condition that Attix attempt to meet with her neighbors and an independent mediator to address their concerns.

If the full County Council supports the permit approval, it will expire Aug. 23, 2010.

Attix had asked for a five- to 10-year permit, noting that no formal complaints or county violations have ever been filed against her, and the annual application process is exhaustive and expensive.

Attix first applied for the conditional-use permit in 2001 with her initial one-year permit approved in 2006.

For the renewal, she gathered a petition, letters or public testimony in support of her vacation rental.

However, the county Planning Department also has heard from about half as many people against her application.

Neighbor Pat Borge testified Wednesday that renters cause problems with their pets and cars and bother nearby farm animals.

"When you put a TVR in a residential district, this is what happens," Borge said.

"It's not all hunky-dory like a lot of people want you to believe."

One neighbor, Debra Gomes Alipio, said Attix and the Planning Department have neglected to keep her and her father informed about public meetings on Attix's application.

Attix's inn is the original home of Gomes Alipio's great-grandparents.

Jocelyn Perreira spoke on behalf of Makawao Main Street Association to endorse the application.

The association board members said they do not support vacation rentals in the heart of Makawao, but Attix does not run a typical operation, Perreira said. It's more of a bed-and-breakfast.

County Planning Director Jeff Hunt said Attix also deserves some credit for renting out two ohana units to long-term renters.

Attix said she has never received any complaints herself and promised council members to try to continue to addressing the concerns.

Maui Vacation Rental Association board member Tom Croly testified that this is not an efficient use of the committee's limited time and lobbied to complete vacation rental reforms before another County Council committee.

There are only 14 conditional-use permits for vacation rentals in districts outside of hotel/resort areas while another 58 remain in the application process, Croly said.

The Land Use Committee on Wednesday also opened a review of a request from a band of 10 landowners who want to move forward with a proposed 52-lot subdivision in Pukalani to accommodate their children and grandchildren.

The proposed 27.48-acre Makaena Place subdivision is along Kula Highway, across from King Kekaulike High School.

For Makaena Place to move forward, the owners - who already have homes on their 10 properties - need a state Land Use Commission reclassification from agriculture to rural and a county zoning change from agricultural to rural.

Landowner Leonard Gomes Jr. said he purchased his three-acre parcel in 1981 "by the skin of my teeth" in order to fulfill a lifelong dream of a family homestead.

Sibyl Padgett said she inherited her parcel from her family, and this is the only way she and her siblings can afford to own a home on Maui.

"Give us a chance to do this for our family and allow us to keep its rural characteristics," said Robert Kimball, who owns 2.67 acres of the proposed subdivision on which he grows avocados and bananas.

Kimball said his children would divide the land into three lots where they will build homes. He also said he will maintain his farming.

The landowners joined together to submit their application in 2004 and have built an 8-inch waterline for the project.

One of their main concerns Wednesday was a recommendation by the county for the landowners to construct a 40-foot-wide road with sidewalks that would connect to Loha Place, which runs off Iolani and Loha streets in Pukalani.

Frank Padgett said connecting the road would ruin the character of the family subdivision.

Padgett complained that Pukalani residents and high school students would use the new throughway to avoid traffic lights in the area.

* Chris Hamilton can be reached at chamilton@mauinews.com.